Danish Government Splits as Goldman Sachs Bid Pushed Through
Source: Bloomberg News
Denmark’s government mustered enough votes to let Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) buy a stake in state-owned Dong Energy A/S after resistance to the deal prompted one of the ruling coalition’s three parties to quit.
The government of Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt won majority lawmaker backing for the deal even after the Socialist People’s Party left the coalition today.
Parliament’s finance committee agreed to let the Wall Street bank pay 8 billion kroner ($1.5 billion) for an 18 percent stake in Dong. A Megafon poll conducted by TV2 showed 68 percent of Danes are against Goldman holding the stake and thousands of protesters gathered outside the parliament last night to voice their anger over the deal.
Dong is selling the shares as part of a financial restructuring announced in February last year to cut costs, reduce debt and bolster investments in oil and gas exploration, as well as in wind farms. The plan included cutting expenses by 20 percent and selling assets to raise 10 billion kroner.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-29/goldman-1-5-billion-bid-imperils-danish-government-re-election.html
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- Always in the picture........
Along with many others, we hold great hope for "change" in a peaceful direction. If President Obama is unwilling to earn his Nobel Prize, the planet will be disappointed. It's a heavy load with already guaranteed rewards of becoming more wealthy than the Clintons. (some snark here, "don't be cruel"
